Safety belt buckle



Feb 4, 1964 F. c. FALLER, JR 3,120,040

SAFETY BELT BUCKLE Filed April 6, 41962 68 D2 n 5 (a9 65% l' el 64 L 4 5 INVENTOR FREDERICK C. PALLERR BY F'ULWIDER, MATTINGLY 8, HUNTLEY ATTORNEYS www United States Patent O j 3,120,040 SAFETY BELT BUCKLE Frederick C. Pallet, Ir., Northridge, Calif., assigner to Superior Industries, lne., Van Nuys, Calif., a corporation ot California Filed Apr. 6, 1962, Ser. No. 185,647 l Claim. (Cl. 24-77) The present invention relates generally to belt buckles and more particularly to buckles used to releasably secure the ends ot lsafety belts of the type commonly used in airplanes and automobiles to restrain the occupants in the event ot a crash or accident.

It is a major object of the presen-t invention to provide a safety belt buckle which is light in weight, compact in size and yet suiciently rugged to withstand any load which may be applied toit.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a safety belt buckle lwhich m-ay be readily coupled and uncoupled with a minimum ot skill or attention on the part of the user. The belt of the present invention will remain coupled even under extremely adverse conditions, yet may be quickly uncoupled when necessary to permit the extraction of an injured or dazed passenger from a crashed vehicle. This is an extremely important feature since the possibility of a re occuring .after a crash makes it important that immobilized passengers be quickly removed after a crash.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a safety belt buckle which lends itself to low manufacturing cost whereby it will appeal to a wide market.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a safety belt buckle of the aforedescribed nature which permits the length of the safety belt to be easily and rapidly adjusted.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following de tailed description, when taken in conjunction with the appended drawings wherein:

FIGURE l is a perspective view showing ya safety belt buckle embodying the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a central vertical sectional view taken on line 2 2 of FIGURE l;

FIGURE 3 is a view s-imilar to FIGURE 2, but showing the parts of said buckle -in position to be uncoupled;

FIGURE 4 is a vertical sectional view taken on line li-Li of FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 5 is Va fragmentary sectional view taken in enlarged :scale along the line 5 5 of FIGURE 4.

Referring to the drawings, Ia preferred form of safety belt buckle embodying the present invention is shown in conjunction with two strap or belt sections designated B and B. The buckle includes a locking member L and a tongue member T. It should be understood that the tongue member T is releasably coupled with the locking member L to secure the free ends of the belt sections B and B together.

The locking member L includes a body, generally designated 2li, having a flat plate 3d providing a guiding tongue at its iront portion and a horizontal generally L-shaped cross-arm 32 at the rear portion of said body. A pair ot' integral upstanding side walls 34 and 36 extend from the sides of the plate 3d rearwardly of the guiding tongue and -rom the sides of the cross-arm 32. The plate Sil is formed with a plurality, such as three, upwardly and rearwardly inclined projections 4t), 42 and 44. The middle projection 42. is formed on the longitudinal centerline of the body 24, while the projections 4@ and 44 are preferably spaced transversely rom the center-line an equal distance. The cross-arm 32 is integrally `formed at its front end with an opstanding lip 48. The side walls 3,123,040 Patented Feb. 4, 1964 34 and 36 are provided with horizontally aligned, rearwardly and downwardly extending slots 46.

A pivot pin 5t? extends transversely between the upper front portions of the side walls 34 and 36 and is rigid relative to these walls. The pivo-t pin 50 supports a latch, generally designated 6i), for pivotal movement relative to the body 2dr, yas indicated in FIGURES 2 and 3. The latch 60 includes a generally rectangular lever 62 having depending side lianges 63 and 64. A torsion spring 65' normally holds the lever 62 flush relative to the upper edges of the body side walls 34 and 36, with the flanges 63 Iand 64 in snug engagement with the interior surfaces of these side walls and the underside of lever 62 abutting the upper :end `of crossarm 32. The yfront end of the latch 60 is formed with a downwardly and rearwardly extending front wall 66, with the lower edge of the front wall 65 being formed with a rearwardly and upwardly extending cam shoulder 67. The torsion spring 65 h-as its major portion wrapped about the pivot pin 50, with one end 655 of the spring being inserted within a 1bore 69 formed in this pin. The opposite end 70 of the spring 6'5 is wedged into the interior intersecting surfaces of the front wall 66 and the cam element 67.

The tongue member T includes a horizontal plate 7'1 having a dat tongue 72 formed at its front portion. The intermediate portion of the plate 71 is formed with a transversely extending elongated slot 73 for receiving a looped end 74 of the belt port-ion B. As indicated clearly in FiGURE l, the looped end 74 overlaps )and the overlapped belt ends are permanently stitched together as indicated at 75. The front portion of the tongue 72 is formed with a plurality of apertures 76, 77 and 78 corresponding `in number and spacing to the number and spacing of the projections 4d, 42 and 44 of locking member L. The length and width of the apertures 76, 77 .and 78 are just slightly larger in dimension than the length and width of the projections 4i), 42 and 44. The sides of the plate 7l rearwardly of the tongue 72 are formed with integral opstanding walls. 79 and 80 that exten-d slightly transversely outwardly relative to the width of tongue '72.

The aforementioned slots 46 formed in the side walls 34 and 36 of the body 24 slidably receive the opposite ends of a transverse strap bar S2 which preferably has a knurled or roughened exterior surface. For this purpose, the strap bar S2 has reduced and ilattened end portions 83. This construction permits limited movement of the strap bar 82 in a direction longitudinally of the slots 46. The end of the belt portion B `adjacent; the locking member L is :threaded upwardly from the underside of body 2.4 around the strap bar 82 and then downwardly and rearwardly along the 4front and lower surfaces of the cross-arm 32. With this construction, the length of seat belt portion B may be readily adjusted in the buckle while at the same time whenever any tension is placed upon the seat belt lthe strap bar S2 is pulled towards the rearward end of the slots i6 wedging and clamping the overlapped end 34 of the seat belt portion B against the cross-arm 32.

In the use of the aforedescribed buckle, the effective length of the belt section B may first be adjusted utilizing the strap bar d2. `In this regard, the strap bar 82 will be urged lforwardly .in the slots t6 whenever it is desired to tighten or slacken the overlapped end 84 of the belt portion B. In order to couple the locking member L to the tongue member T the tongue 72 is inserted into the front end of the body 24. Upon entering the front end of the body 2t the forward end of the tongue 72 will deflect the latch L counter-clockwise relative to its normal position. Thereafter, the latch 6d will snap clockwise to its normal position under the iniluence of the spring 69.

ICC

3 The parts of the buckle will then appear as shown in FIGURES l and 2.

Referring particularly to FIGURE 2, it will be noted that the cam element 67 of the latch 60 positively locks the tongue 72 against upward movement relative to the front plate 30. The abutment of the front end of the projections 40, 42 and 44.i with the front end of the apertures 76, 77 `and '78 will prevent any longitudinal separation of the locking member L and the tongue member T. It should be particularly noted that any longitudinal forces tending to separate the locking member L and the tongue member T will pass directly from the tongue 72 to the front plate 30 of the base 2i.. Thus, these loads need not be transferred through any intermediate parts as is the case with conventional safety belt buckles. The engagement of the walls 79 and S0 of the tongue member T with the front edges of the side walls 34 and 36 restrains relative longitudinal novement of these parts towards one another.

It should be noted also that inasmuch as the latch lever 60 is held flush with and overlies the upper edges of the body side walls 34 and 36, the danger that the latch 60 might become caught on a users clothing and become inadventently opened is eliminated. Further, the provision of three transversely spaced sets of locking projections 40, 42 and 44 and apertures 76, 77 a Ld 78 insures even load distribution across the width of the locking member L and the tongue member T.

In order to uncouple the latch member L and the tongue member T the user merely raises the rear end of the latch member L in a counter-clockwise direction, as indicated in FTGURE 3. The tongue 72 may then readily be withdrawn from its engagement with the front plate 30 of body 2A. It will be apparent that this uncoupling may take place regardless of the amount of tension being applied between the locked member L and the tongue member T. This is of great importance should it become necessary to remove an occupant of a crashed automobile or aircraft and the weight of the occupant is applying tension between the lock member L and the tongue member T.

Another advantage of the aforedescribed buckle is that because of the uniform spacing of the projections 40, 42 and 44 and apertures 76, 77 and 78 the tongue member T may be coupled to the locking member L even though the belt portions B, B may be twisted. Hence, a user may couple the belt pon-tions very rapidly if he has not previously done so and an emergency presents itself.

Various modifications and changes may be made with respect to the foregoing detailed description without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the following claim.

I claim:

A buckle for use with first and second safety belt portions, comprising:

a locking member body that includes a tnansverse horizontal plate providing a guiding tongue at its front portion and a transverse cross-bar at the rear portion of said body, with a pair of vertical side walls connecting said plate and said cross-bar and a plurality of transversely spaced, upwardly and rearwardly inclined projections being formed on said l plate, said guiding tongue projecting beyond said side walls, said cross-bar extending between said side walls and substantially closing the space therebetween;

a transverse pivot pin extending between and secured to said side walls;

a single piece stamped metal latch carried by said pivot pin, said latch integrally including a lever that normally covers t-e space between the upper ends of said side walls, said lever having depending vertically relatively short side flanges, said latch also having an integral downwardly extending solid front wall extending between said side walls and formed at its lower portion with a cam wall normally horizontally overlying the rear portion of said projections;

a torsion spring wrapped about said pivot pin with one end yanchored to said pin and the other end engag ing said front wall of said latch to bias said latch toward its normal position;

means on said locking member body that cooperate with said cross-bar to adjustably receive one end of said first belt portion;

and a tongue member secured to said second belt portion, said tongue member having a liat tongue formed with a plurality of apertures complementary to said projections, said tongue member being releasably coupled to said locking member body by inserting said at tongue between said side wal above and along said guiding tongue of said plate "nuntil said apertures register with said projections, said latch being manually pivoted out of its normal position to permit said insertion of said flat tongue, with said spring thereafter automatically snapping said latch back into its normal position wherein the side ilanges of said latch lever are in snug engagement with the side walls of said locking member body and the underside of said flanges abut the upper end of said cross-bar, `and the front wall of said latch covers the space between the front portion of said side walls above said flat tongue, with the cam `wall of said latch locking said flat tongue against upward movement away from the plate of said locking member body, and the projections of said plate and the apertures of said tongue having uniform spacing relative to the longitudinal centerline of said plate whereby said tongue member may be coupled with said locking member body without requiring either member to be inverted.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,876,516 Cummings Mar. 10, 1959 2,904,866 Carter Sept. 22, 1959 2,916,786 Legat Dec. 15, 1959 3,013,317 Weber Dec. 19, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 729,523 Germany Dec. 17, 1942 534,201 Belgium lan. 15, -1955 1,059,692 Germany June 18, 1959 1,093,125 Germany Nov. 17, 1960 

